All In Recommends: Sam Berns’ Philosophy for a Happy Life

Posted on August 13, 2019 by Ann

Question: What is the most important thing that people should know about you?

Answer: I have a very happy life.

Watch this inspirational and uplifting video by Sampson Gordon “Sam” Berns who was diagnosed with a rare rapid ageing disease called progeria when he was two years old.

1. Be okay with what you ultimately can’t do because there is so much you CAN do.

Instead of focusing on what he could not do, he focused on the activities he could do or was passionate about. He also talked about how one can make adjustments to put what one cannot do in the can-do category.

2. Surround yourself with people you want to be with.

Sam talked about how lucky he was to be with people who provided positive influence on his life and he hoped he provided a positive influence on theirs as well.

3. Keep Moving forward.

Sam’s favourite quote was “Around here…we don’t look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things.” (Walt Disney) He always tried to have something to look forward to, which helped him get through difficult times.

4. And a final piece of advice

“Never miss a party if you can help it. My school homecoming dance is tomorrow night and I will be there.”

He did it

At the end of the talk, Sam talked about his dreams for the future. He related how he wanted to be an engineer, or an inventor, or a biologist. The he ended with, “I feel that no matter what I choose to become, I believe that I can change the world. And as I am striving to change the world, I will be happy.”

Sam passed away one year after making this video at age 17. He never became an engineer or an inventor or a biologist. But with this video, I believe he has changed the world.